Destiny's Journey
by The Katenater
Summary: The first kiss...fades to black...what happens next? This fic follows each of the movies with a greater focus on Neo and Trinity's relationship, plus some extra events if you're lucky... Please RR.
1. Prologue

Very long author's note.  
  
Hi! I'm sure whoever is reading this at the moment knows that a story isn't written for no reason at all- not written to prove a point, not for pure boredom either. A story is written for a purpose, as Agent Smith would say, "Purpose that drives us," and even though he is "the bad guy", I still will have to agree with him. There is reason and meaning behind every story, and Andy and Larry have proven this to the world, well those of us that live in the real world anyway, and that are not mesmerized by the fake and nonexistent.  
  
I've never written an ongoing novella type of fanfiction, but I surely hope that this story will turn into exactly that. Personally, I am more drawn to cottony soft fluff and vignettes rather than something that can keep my attention for long minutes, even hours. Sometimes though, we just have so many thoughts that have built up that we must get the out, and for me, that means, well- write! The love portrayed in The Matrix trilogy of Neo and Trinity is so real and so strong, even though it is fictional, I think it's wonderful that so many of us can continue their story in a way that makes it seem just like one of the movies. I hope to at least accomplish that in writing this story, for I think love is what drove them until the very end.  
  
In conclusion, I'd like to dedicate this story to my own purpose, my own real love- someone I've known for a long time, and someone where both of us were recently able to admit our feelings for each other. I get my inspiration from him, and even though we are not able to see each other as much as we would like, I know that he's as close to the One as I could ever get, so Timothy, this one is for you. (I hate to get all sappy on ya, but anyway.) You'll see references to Lifehouse songs from their album, No Name Face, and just so you know, these songs (some of my favorites) have been used to serenade each other back and forth. I would greatly appreciate any reviews, constructive criticism, and future ideas, anything- that would help me write my story and make it more enjoyable for you.  
  
*Katie*  
  
PS- If I don't update for a while, just assume it's due to homework overload, hockey tournament, or piano/guitar practice. E-mail me or something and complain until I add a chappie or two, I won't get mad. I hate cliffhangers, and I know you do too, so I'll try to make this easy for all of us.  
  
So now, here we go.first stop, the Real World. 


	2. Chapter I: Two are One and Fighting For ...

Destiny's Journey: Two Are One and Fighting For Tomorrow  
  
Desperate for changing, Starving for truth, I'm closer to where I started, Chasing after you.  
  
"Neo.Neo.so simple a word- a name - yet it sounds like expensive wine being poured into a crystal glass when it rolls off the tip of my tongue as I imagine the man that goes with that word standing right here, right in the middle of this bland metal box I call my room," mused a dreary Trinity. "Did I honestly just say that out loud?" She pulled herself up from her cot in an effort to shake the thoughts from her mind with her quick movements- it didn't work. She just couldn't help thinking about him. Inside of her active mind was a euphoria of a perfect, imaginative life, and he just had to be a part of it.  
  
"Damn fate.why do I know what's supposed to happen, but I don't know how to put words into action? This stuff is supposed to be easy for me." Out of frustration, she picked up the nearest object to her dormant hand and threw it hard at the metal door, and just as her left boot made contact with hollow metal, a creeaakk noise echoed throughout the room. Tank, uncertain if the right boot was aimed at his head, hesitantly poked his head through the small opening.  
  
"Sorry to bother you Trin, I know it's been a long night, but Morpheus needs to see you in the med bay.i-it's about Neo."  
  
Trinity could tell by looking at Tank's confused expression that the look on her face was quite blank.  
  
"I'll-I'll be just.just a moment Tank, thank you," she forced herself a shaky reply, and with that, she prodded over to the door, picked up her left boot and pulled it on the match the other foot. "Focus Trinity," was the last thought as she took a deep breath and shut the door quietly behind her.  
  
"I just don't understand it. I don't see it to be possible, yet here he is living and breathing like nothing ever happened." Morpheus' brows furrowed as he leaned down with his elbows on his knees and his hands folded against his forehead deep in thought. Neo lay asleep on one of the metal examining tables. Morpheus had sent Tank to rest after he had sent message to Trinity that Morpheus needed her in the med bay. He had been injured quite seriously as well, and Morpheus could see that he was struggling to keep his eyes open as he tended to Neo.  
  
As for Neo, he had collapsed after his 'resurrection', as Morpheus called it, and had been carried in a heap to the med bay where he remained unconscious for the following hours. After seeing Neo laid quite uncomfortably on the cold, metal table, Trinity had disappeared to her room without Morpheus or Tank noticing her absence until now. They hadn't even thought about her having anything to do with the events of the night, yet as the hours drifted by and Morpheus had time to replay everything in his mind, he couldn't help but wonder if his second in command was responsible for Neo's continuing heartbeat.  
  
"What is it Morpheus," came Trinity's tired voice, shaking Morpheus from his reverie.  
  
"Trinity, please sit down. I just needed to ask you about what happened earlier."  
  
Feeling a bit uncomfortable with sitting this close to Neo in the state that he was in, Trinity tried not to glance at his face and the look of pain that radiated from it. Once settled in her chair, she waited for Morpheus to continue.  
  
"I'm curious as to why he is still alive, or furthermore, came back from the dead. I've thought through every possible scenario, and nothing seems possible except that he is the One and it was meant to be. If that is so, then I still don't understand how he died in the first place."  
  
A single tear made its way down Trinity's cheek, a true shock to Morpheus. He had never seen Trinity- the fighter, the heart of steel; the emotionless leader- shed a single tear. He didn't know what to say that wouldn't upset her for whatever reason she cried in the first place, so he awaited any sign- an explanation or for her to get up and race out of the room- his first prediction. To his amazement, though, she did not budge from the chair; instead, she looked up, took a deep breath, and started to speak, softly so that only Morpheus could barely hear-  
  
"Morpheus, you took me to the Oracle. It was a few days after you unplugged me. It was so long ago, and I was so lost.I didn't know what you would say if I told you.I was scared out of my mind, so I've kept what she told me all to myself for five years. I never believed it, but it happened and I don't know what I should do."  
  
"Trinity, it's alright to tell me, I would never be angry with you." Morpheus tried to sound convincing as if he were speaking to a five year old crying over spilt milk.  
  
"She told me that I would fall in love with the One, and that without each other, neither of us would be able to survive. She told me that our lives would depend on the other, and that just as he would be the savior in the eyes of all humanity, I would be the savior in his eyes. I didn't believe it, honest to God, I didn't think I needed anyone, didn't think I could trust a man, but just a month ago you sent me to him, and in that club, Morpheus, I just knew. Ever since that night, he is all that I've been able to think about, and tonight, God tonight, I poured my heart out to him after he died. I told him what the Oracle had said to me and that everything except this had happened. I told him that he couldn't die.because I love him, and after that he gasped for air and beat the agents' asses. Just as Tank hit the EMP, I unplugged him, and as the sentinels crashed all around us he opened his eyes and kissed me, Morpheus, he kissed me because he had heard everything I told him. I helped him out of the chair, and he just collapsed into my arms. That's when you and Tank came in, and after that I just couldn't take it, it was all too much."  
  
Morpheus was awestruck, and his eyes showed it- they were wide with amazement. "Trinity, I don't know what to say other than.thank you. You saved Neo, and together both of you will save us all. I am sure of it now. You two need each other to live, and you fight for each other. Please don't be afraid, this was meant to be. He needs you right now- don't be afraid to be with him, to tell him your feelings because without you, there is no One, whether it be you, Neo, or the conjoined souls of two fighting for tomorrow. 


	3. Chapter II: This Prophecy of Mine

Destiny's Journey: This Prophecy of Mine  
  
Well I haven't got it all figured out quite yet, but even if it takes my whole life to get where I need to be, and if I should fall to the bottom of  
the end, I'll be one step back to you and trying to find my way.  
  
For as long as Trinity could remember, sleep had usually come fairly easily on most nights. After endless hours of work in the Matrix, she could shuffle quietly back into her steel box- complete with steel cot- and fall asleep at ease. There were those nights- different nights- however, that were seen as a burden put into her weary shoulders, and sleep never came. In fact, this had quite ironically started the night there had been a special addition to the Neb- Neo, of course. On these nights, instead of counting sheep, which technically didn't exist, she would count the what- ifs, pros and cons, of what was to become of this prophesized relationship.  
  
As for tonight, well, she was not at her very best. After her revealing conversation with Morpheus, she had trudged back to her quarters feeling quite tired and as if she no longer had any emotions left to hide- all of her feelings had been released into the open, and there were no more secrets to keep deep within her heart. Despite the immense fatigue, though, she was unable to keep visions of the man she left alone, lying on that cold, hard meal slab (wrongfully called an examination table, mind you) out of her head. She kept wondering if it was only right for her to stay and care for him as proof that she actually did care in the first place, or then again, would that be too forward? So, after hours of useless theories, she came to a conclusion: "Either go to him and take the chance of getting your heart broken, or stay here and worry about it." Being her risk-taking self, she was happy with her first choice. "After all," she mused, "he did kiss me back." And with that, she buckled her boots and headed for her usual getaway for nights like these- the mess hall. She assumed, since she often heard Neo's light footsteps outside her door on his sleepless nights, he might have had the same idea, if he wasn't still unconscious in the med lab. She hoped with all her heart that somehow she would miraculously find him where she had thought he would be.  
  
Walking past each door to each of the crew mates' rooms, and stopping at Neo's, Trinity couldn't resist putting her ear to the metal and listen for any sound at all- nothing but silence. She sighed inaudibly wondering if all this was just some stupid idea, but quickly forgot her fears as her heart jumped at the sight of the dim light coming from the mess hall- someone had had the same idea.Neo?  
  
She stopped for a moment just outside the door that had been left slightly ajar and took a deep breath while trying to recall all of the rehearsed words and phrases she had planned to use if she actually were to find Neo in the mess hall. She placed a trembling hand on the metal doorknob (What? Were you expecting it to be rubber or something?) and pulled it to an angle just large enough for her to slip through and closed it silently before turning to look at the rest of the room.  
  
While still facing the door, she couldn't help but smile at her actions- how loving someone took so much more strength than jumping from sky high buildings. "Love is an amazing power, so amazing that it actually seeped through to my stone heart and sent life into me for the first time in all these lifeless years," she mused as she began to turn around. As her eyes adjusted to the soft light, her breath caught in her throat and her heart flip flopped in her chest at the beautiful sight in front of her. As if he was an angel sent to her from some peaceful place, and she was convinced that he was, her beloved sat right in front of her at the opposite side of the table. She must have jumped at least a foot in the air when she saw him. Her eyes wandered all over him from the floor up. Two legs sprawled in front of him, two boots resting on the floor almost to the side of the table where she stood motionless. His back rose and fell with his steady breathing, which, she noted, was quite labored and a bit shallow. The collar of his shirt had slipped ever so slightly off of his shoulder in his state of sleep, just enough that she could have a rare glance at his muscular chest and collarbone. Arms resting out in front of him, folded on the cold table, forehead buried in his wrist and the thin layer of fabric that covered his pale skin. His hair was slightly ruffled and succeeded in making the scene absolutely adorable, the word Trinity concluded to fit what she saw. (A/N: Let's just pretend that Neo has hair and such, like in Reloaded, shall we?) The most beautiful part of this experience, however, was the way he could close his eyes so lightly, with such innocence, and still look as if he was keeping a close watch on the world, as if his very soul radiated from the expression on his face and embraced her, despite the fact that he was peacefully and completely in some faraway land of dreams. There was only one problem to this, he just seemed so cold.  
  
Praying that he would remain fast asleep, Trinity tip-toed as quickly and quietly as she could possibly move back to her room and returned with the thickest blanket she had, wrapped around her shoulders. She soundlessly sat down next to him on the bench and just stared for a moment. She wondered how he had found the strength to walk from the med bay on one side of the ship, to the mess hall on the other side. "Then again," she reassured herself, "he is the One, and it's impossible to understand all the things he can do. He's just like.Superman!" Trinity had to suppress a giggle at the thought of something so childish and nonexistent, but she just couldn't help it. She was in love, and it was doing very strange things to her mind.  
  
She unwrapped the blanket from her shoulders and gently placed it around his. Neo stirred at the presence of the unexpected warmth and the hand that was moving in small circles along his back. He secretly reveled in the touch and leaned towards whatever it was that made him burn- in a good way- under his skin. He did not, however, wake from his reverie. Trinity smiled slightly as Neo leaned into her hand, and she just could not help it any longer. She had to be closer to him. After all, she had passed her only source of warmth, the blanket, on to him. If he were to wake up, though, what would he say or not say, do or not do? At that point, it did not matter because she had already lifted the blanket from his shoulder that was nearest to her and wrapped it around herself as well. "This is better," she thought as her eyes drifted back to where his shirt left a section of his chest uncovered. Involuntarily, her hand reached up to touch his skin before she tentatively pulled the thin material back to its rightful place, in hopes that it might keep him a bit warmer. It had to have succeeded in doing so because at the very moment her hand left him completely, his eyes fluttered and looked curiously up at the woman next to him whose eyes were quite wide.  
  
"Trinity, I,"  
  
"I'm sorry," she whispered, thinking she had disrupted his sleep.  
  
"No, it's alright. What are you sorry for?"  
  
"I-I just thought maybe I had waken you, and well,"  
  
As she tried to find the right words, Neo started coughing violently, causing Trinity to instinctively rub his back to comfort him. He eventually calmed down, yet he still kept one hand clutched to his chest and his face was grimaced in pain, eyes closed tightly.  
  
Trinity removed his hand from his chest and replaced it with hers. "Show me where it hurts," she instructed and waited and watched while Neo lifted his shirt and pointed to the source of the pain. To Trinity's relief, there was no sign at all of the bullets that had penetrated this beautiful skin, not that the eye could see at least, however, there was a rather large bruise just to the right of his breastbone. Using her knowledge of medicine and by the look and feel of things, she came to a conclusion. "I think you have a broken rib or two. As long as you're lying down and not moving too much, the pain should go away soon," she stated plainly.  
  
"Thank you," he said in response to her diagnosis. "Maybe we should- I mean I should- go lie down now, and sleep. It might not be too comfortable to spend the night here. It's already hard to stand. I'd hate to see what it's like after spending the night sitting here."  
  
Trinity smiled at him. Not a grin, mind you, it was nothing too dramatic, but it showed enough emotion to bring Neo fiercely into her arms in a tight hug that surprised them both. For Trinity, it was not just the contact that was surprising, but it was the coldness of the man she held in her arms. His embrace filled her with warmth, warmth that she had so desperately longed for, but he on the other hand, was shivering and holding onto her for dear life. She wished more than anything to be able to keep him warm, to help him shed all of his fears, to spend the rest of her life with this man, or at least the rest of the night.  
  
"Neo," she whispered, "stay with me tonight."  
  
He gently pulled away and looked into her pleading eyes with a weariness that matched hers, and he nodded in consent. He wanted nothing more. She then helped him to stand, wrapped the blanket around his shoulders once again, and helped him along as the two walked hand in hand back to her room to spend the rest of the night where they belonged.  
  
Some might say that part of the prophecy had been fulfilled when the One found his meaning- Trinity- and some would say that this is what started it all. It was, of course, only the beginning- the beginning of the end. As for now, though, the gates of Zion were a mere day away, and the Nebuchadnezzar and its remaining crew were ready to go home. For one of them, however, this would be the very first time to set foot upon the stone cave of his new life. 


End file.
